SERVICE LIFEAMSOIL Synthetic 0W-20 Motor Oil is recommended for extended drain intervals in unmodified(1), mechanically sound(2) gasoline-fueled vehicles as follows:
• Normal Service(3) – Up to 25,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.
• Severe Service(4) – Up to 15,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.

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Mobil 1 is very popular, but they aren't so brazen as to state such long change times between changes over 15K miles.

But they will say this:

If Mobil 1 Extended Performance is recommended for 15,000-mile intervals, what’s the maximum limit to which it can be pushed? In other words, if a driver goes an extra 1,000 miles or so, is he going to damage his engine?Mobil 1 Extended Performance is recommended for up to 15,000-mile or one-year oil change intervals. However, if your vehicle manufacturer recommends an oil change interval beyond 15,000 miles and Mobil 1 meets the performance level specified, you can be assured that Mobil 1 will go the distance.

i change the oil every twelve months
i swapped out the factory oil at 1000 miles
10,500 miles and one year later (11,500 on the clock), i didn't have my Amsoil on hand,
so i used the 0W-20 Mobil with the green cap and a pure-one purolator filter

i got 16k on the clock now, and an imminent oil change back to the Amsoil SSO 0W-30 and the EAO 09

the filters and oil for my Prius and my Kawasaki arrived yesterday :thumb:

Wow!.. that's encouraging.. I do hate oil changes and they only cost another 50% more per quart for the oil but give tons more in drive time.

I"m afraid I do much more than you do per year.
I"m looking at close to 30K a year... so I could conceivably do the 25K changes if I thought it was indeed safe.

Ill be adding a magnetic oil plug too.

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you have to look at the kind of driving you do as well
start/stop and short trips are considered severe duty, as well as dusty/dirty environment

i don't know that i'd go 25k miles without a bypass filter
but again, i don't mind changing oil, i find it relaxing and peaceful
and do it on my cars and bike, as well as for friends and my ex ('cause i'm paying for her car)

if it makes you feel better, why don't you shoot for 2x annually with the Amsoil SSO OW-30?
schedule it out easily, say first week of January and first week July, so every six months like clockwork
if you get nervous about it, send some in for analysis to verify your car is doing ok

if it makes you feel better, why don't you shoot for 2x annually with the Amsoil SSO OW-30?
schedule it out easily, say first week of January and first week July, so every six months like clockwork
if you get nervous about it, send some in for analysis to verify your car is doing ok

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Sounds reasonable, you can always work your way up. I drive in pretty clean environments now that I"m not up in the mountains down gravel roads.
But whats your rational for using SSO 0W - 30 instead of AMSOIL Synthetic 0W-20?

Sounds reasonable, you can always work your way up. I drive in pretty clean environments now that I"m not up in the mountains down gravel roads.
But whats your rational for using SSO 0W - 30 instead of AMSOIL Synthetic 0W-20?

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Well, a couple of reasons, and no need to drill too deep.

I'd been using Amsoil in my motorcycle and my truck, and do oil changes for a number of friends as well. As a result, I also signed up for a ten year Amsoil dealership, so I can order all my maintenance supplies for myself and my pals.

Essentially, Amsoil recommends the SSO 0W-30 for the Prius, as well as my truck which sports a Ford 5.0

I know that a number of the manufacturers are recommending 0W-20 now, and I suspect Toyo may be doing the same.

I live in SoCal, and it's HOT year round, and the factory and Amsoil both recommended the SSO 0W-30, it's a pretty universal weight right now ...

like I said, I'm running the Mobil 0W-20 right now, I'll do an analysis and see how it held up, but I'm not noticing any differences in mileage or performance or anything else ... so I'm going to stick to stocking the 0W-30 for my cars/trucks and the 10W-40 for mine and my buddies' motorcycles.

If you need any, give me a holler. I'd offer to do your next change, but you're kinda far away.

I don't put enough miles on my car to worry about change intervals. I do it every two years if it needs it or not! And that usually works out to about 10,000 miles.

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hey friend, respectfully, you shouldn't wait that long, even with limited mileage. most drain intervals say three months for dino oil, and six months for synthetic, even if you're not clocking the mileage to justify an oil change

i certainly wouldn't go a year without an oil and filter change
even if i had the car in storage for a year, i'd do a change before firing it up ... new filter and oil, among other things

There may be some credence to changing in one year, but on the other hand.. .they need to sell oil and they tend to stick together in their story... I"m just suspicious my nature when it comes to business... saves my butt constantly.

Again, they have to write protocol to satisfy the needs of the weakest link to cover their tails.
Weakest link being someone who rarely uses their car and when they do they go very short distances and never burn out all the water from condensation.

There may be some credence to changing in one year, but on the other hand.. .they need to sell oil and they tend to stick together in their story... I"m just suspicious my nature when it comes to business... saves my butt constantly.

Again, they have to write protocol to satisfy the needs of the weakest link to cover their tails.
Weakest link being someone who rarely uses their car and when they do they go very short distances and never burn out all the water from condensation.

In most of my previous cars, I've noticed that the engine idle starts to deteriorate slightly at about 3000 miles, even with synthetic oil. By about 5000 miles it's usually quite noticeable. I've used Amsoil, Mobil One, and a few others and I think that Amsoil is a little bit better in this regard. The occasional time I've taken the oil to 8000 miles or more, this deterioration has been quite pronounced.

It's easy to notice this effect -- right after you change the oil the engine suddenly becomes silky smooth. I'd guess that it's the result of friction modifiers in the oil being burned off as the oil ages. I'd also guess that fuel economy would drop when this happens, but I've never attempted to measure it. The Prius engine generally doesn't idle, so I likely won't notice this sort of thing in the future for this car.

My Prius is sitting at about 4500 miles right now, so it's about time for an oil change. I decided to take a quick look at the dipstick to see if there's been any oil consumption (there wasn't any) before taking it to the dealer. I was very surprised to see that the color of the oil looked like it had just been put in. Much of my driving is in stop-and-go highway traffic; it typically takes me about an hour and fifteen minutes to go about 33 miles in each direction to/from work. Unlike other cars where the oil would be approaching a black color, it would seem that the Prius engine thrives in this type of environment. Then again, maybe it will just take a bit more time before enough carbon buildup begins to accumulate inside the engine, causing the oil to blacken...

Anyway, I voted for 5000 miles based on this experience. That's not to say that it's not perfectly safe to go double that distance, since the primary function of oil is to stop metal-to-metal contact, and it may well be able to do this whether the friction modifiers are still there or not (oil analysis would tell that story). I just like to have a slippery oil, since the engine will run a bit smoother.

As I see it, here are a few properties (all different) that contribute to a good engine oil:
1. There's no metal-to-metal contact (a top priority).
2. The oil is still slippery when it's time for an oil change (i.e.) the oil's friction modifier additives are still working.
3. The oil is not leaving a carbon buildup in your engine (i.e.) the oil's detergent additives are doing their job.
4. As oil ages, it tends to become acidic. This is especially bad if the oil contains sulfur (think sulfuric-acid), since it will tend to dissolve your engine parts. Additives are added to oil to resist this. Oil analysis "TBN" rating measures this resistance -- a TBN from 5 to 15 is considered good while a TBN below 3 is considered bad.

This is especially bad if the oil contains sulfur (think sulfuric-acid), since it will tend to dissolve your engine parts. Additives are added to oil to resist this. Oil analysis "TBN" rating measures this resistance -- a TBN from 5 to 15 is considered good while a TBN below 3 is considered bad.

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Acid would explain the black color alright. I"ve often wondered why oil gets so black.. I just assumed it was carbon from impure combustion.

i am picking up my car today & plan on changing oil at 1000k. i will put amsoil 0w-20 and wix filter in & plan to run oil & filter for 7,500k. to my knowledge amsoil does not make a EAo (25k) filter for the Gen III yet. amsoil change interval recommendations for wix or mann filters in gasoline applications is to match drain interval of amsoil xl motor oils (7,500k). for the Gen III amsoil suggests using 0w-20. when amsoil comes out with a EAo filter i will change oil once a year.

i am picking up my car today & plan on changing oil at 1000k. i will put amsoil 0w-20 and wix filter in & plan to run oil & filter for 7,500k. to my knowledge amsoil does not make a EAo (25k) filter for the Gen III yet. amsoil change interval recommendations for wix or mann filters in gasoline applications is to match drain interval of amsoil xl motor oils (7,500k). for the Gen III amsoil suggests using 0w-20. when amsoil comes out with a EAo filter i will change oil once a year.

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i was researching the oil recommendations/options for the Gen III last night, and the Amsoil site still recommends the SSO 0W30 for the new Prius

the only filter i found was the purolator, i didn't see a wix

do we know if the toyota filter is compatible or interchangeable with any other vehicles, so i can research more options

2010 TOYOTA PRIUS 1.8L 4-cyl Engine Code 2ZR-FXEVariable Fuel LUBRICANTS & FLUIDS: All TEMPS......0W-20 i just cut this from the amsoil product application guide. your 08 does recommond the SSO. i am getting my info from the amsoil web site & have not talked with my amsoil rep yet. the amsoil web site does not show a wix filter but if you go to wix web site and enter 2010 prius they do make a cartridge.

2010 TOYOTA PRIUS 1.8L 4-cyl Engine Code 2ZR-FXEVariable Fuel LUBRICANTS & FLUIDS: All TEMPS......0W-20 i just cut this from the amsoil product application guide. your 08 does recommond the SSO. i am getting my info from the amsoil web site & have not talked with my amsoil rep yet. the amsoil web site does not show a wix filter but if you go to wix web site and enter 2010 prius they do make a cartridge.

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i think for warranty purposes the build sheet page directs you to the 0W20, but the Amsoil site lays out the following:

Do I really need to use 5W-20 or 0W- 20 oil? Truth, NO! Read on for technical facts regarding the use of 5W-20 or 0W-20 motor oil.
Ford, Honda and Daimler- Chrysler specify 5W-20 or 0W-20 motor oil for most gas engine powered cars and light trucks. Is 5W20/0W-20 oil really necessary?
Here are the technical facts behind 5W-20 and 0W-20 oil specs:
Question: My owners manual specifies 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil. Do I really need to use 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil and why did my 2000 model year vehicle require a 5W-30 oil, while the exact same engine in my 2001, 2002 and newer engines "requires" a 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil?

Answer: NO! You do not need to use a 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil. Do not let your dealer scare you by telling you that you have to use 5W-20 oil for your warranty. That is a tactic that some dealerships use to scare customers. Once you know the facts and the Federal Magnusson Moss Act law, you will be much better informed to protect your rights and use the type of fluids you want to use.

The main reason 5W-20 or 0W-20 oil was specified for your engine is to increase the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) reported to the Federal Government. CAFE is the combined average fuel economy of all of a vehicle manufacturers product line. Minimum CAFE levels are specified by the Federal Government. In order for a vehicle manufacturer to continue selling profitable large trucks and SUV's, which typically have poor fuel mileage ratings, as compared to smaller cars, and still meet mandated CAFE requirements, they must also sell enough of the smaller cars which have much better fuel economy ratings to offset the poor fuel economy ratings of the larger vehicles. For model year 2001, the change to a 5W- 20 oil will allow Honda and Ford's overall CAFE to increase by a very small amount, typically in the tenths of a mile per gallon range. 5W-20 oil is a lighter viscosity than a 5W-30 oil and therefore has less internal engine frictional losses, or less drag on the crankshaft, pistons and valvetrain, which in turn promotes increased fuel economy. This increased fuel economy is virtually undetectable to the average motorist without the use of specialized engine monitoring and testing equipment under strictly controlled test track driving when compared to a 5W-30, 10W-30 or a 0W-30 viscosity motor oil.

For better performance and protection we recommend using Signature Series 0W-30 100% Synthetic Motor Oil (SSO). This is the top performing AMSOIL Motor Oil for gasoline powered light trucks and passenger cars. It uses race-proven technology and provides unsurpassed fuel efficiency and better wear protection than other conventional and synthetic motor oils. It is a 35,000 mile/1-year change interval motor oil. Use it in conjunction with AMSOIL's Super Duty Oil Filter's that specify a change interval of 12,500 miles/6-months, whichever comes first.

Question: Could using a 5W-30, 10W-30, 0W-30 or even a 10W-40 or 20W-50, oil in my vehicle which specifies a 5W-20 oil void my new car warranty?

Answer: Absolutely not. Vehicle manufacturers only recommend using motor oils meeting certain viscosity grades and American Petroleum Institute service requirements. Whether a motor oil is a 5W-20, 5W-30, 10W-30, 0W-30, 10W-40 or 20W-50 (for racing and high performance applications in, for example, a Cobra R Mustang) or even a synthetic vs. a petroleum based oil will not affect warranty coverage. The manufacturer is required by Federal Law to cover all equipment failures it would normally cover as long as the oil meets API service requirements and specifications and was not the cause of failure. In addition, the Federally mandated Magnuson - Moss Act states that a manufacturer may not require a specific brand or type of aftermarket product unless it is provided free of charge. If your dealership continues to tell you that you must use 5W-20 motor oil and or/ a specific brand of 5W-20 motor oil, then ask them to put it in writing. Their position is inaccurate, and, in fact violates existing law.*

Additionally, if there is ever a question of whether or not a particular motor oil was the cause of an engine failure make sure to get a sample of the used oil in a clean bottle, typically 6 oz. minimum. The oil can then be sent to two independent testing labs for analysis. This is standard procedure for most commercial vehicles, trucking, construction/excavation and fleet companies and there are numerous certified test labs all over the country. Remember, a knowledgeable and informed consumer is your best defense against being taken advantage of by a car dealership service center.

* Note: If a car or truck dealership, service center or other business states that using AMSOIL motor oil in your vehicle will void your new car warranty, ask for that statement in writing and send it to AMSOIL technical Services. If the business won't provide the statement in writing send AMSOIL Technical Services a letter identifying who made the statement, the name and location of the business and what the statement was. AMSOIL will then send a letter to the business informing them that their position is inaccurate, and, in fact, violates existing law. Your name will be held in confidence.

AMSOIL mailing address: AMSOIL Inc., AMSOIL Bldg., Superior, WI 54880

For better performance and protection we recommend using Signature Series 0W-30 100% Synthetic Motor Oil (SSO). This is the top performing AMSOIL Motor Oil for gasoline powered light trucks and passenger cars. It uses race-proven technology and provides unsurpassed fuel efficiency and better wear protection than other conventional and synthetic motor oils. It is a 35,000 mile/1-year change interval motor oil. Use it in conjunction with AMSOIL's Super Duty Oil Filter's that specify a change interval of 12,500 miles/6-months, whichever comes first.

For those consumers that still must use a 5W-20 oil, even after reading this informative article, AMSOIL does manufacture a 5W-20 synthetic motor oil, calledXL-5W-20. AMSOIL's 5W-20 synthetic motor oil provides outstanding wear protection and increased power, performance and fuel economy in high and low temperatures and also meets and exceeds the Honda, Ford and Chrysler fluid specifications.

good info. i sure hope amsoil comes out with an AEo filter. sure would hate to drain oil that has been used for only 30% of its intended mileage. the wix filter appears compatible with Principal Application: Scion xD,Toyota Corolla (08-09), Matrix (09) Pontiac Vibe (09)

good info. i sure hope amsoil comes out with an AEo filter. sure would hate to drain oil that has been used for only 30% of its intended mileage. the wix filter appears compatible with Principal Application: Scion xD,Toyota Corolla (08-09), Matrix (09) Pontiac Vibe (09)

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i hope they come out with a filter too, but i'm not familiar with any EAO canister filters

i just re-upped to a ten year dealership, and i get all my motorcycle filters from them as well, and it's a wix canister, also avail. from purolator at pep boys ... the canister is pretty universal for kawasakis, but still no EAO filter

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